Lincoln sat on his bed,comic book in hand and once again stripped down to his undies,he had just gotten some fresh new stories just the other day.
"Tough break card shark,looks like ace savvy just dealt you some justice" he giddily commented over the page he'd just read.
It's been a good few minutes since Lynn came up to him suggesting the sibling walk and he agreed,lunch was a few hours away so he had some time to kill before then,and here he is killing the time with a good read of his favourite superhero comic.
A knock sounded out,someone is at the door.
"Who is it?" he called out to the other outside the door.
"Lincoln it's me,we need to talk" the familiar voice of Lucy sounded muffled due to the door between them.
"Lucy?...okay just give me a sec" Lincoln put down his comic and slid off his bed,snatching his clothes off the floor he dressed himself,he slipped on his shirt and started to feed his legs into the pant holes of his jeans.
"Lincoln?" Lucy called again.
"Be right there" he called back,just buttoning up his pants,after that was done he walked over and opened the door to be greeted by the small form of Lucy loud.
"Hey there,what's-whoa!" the small goth pushed Lincoln into the room and after a brief look outside she closed the door and turned to her brother.
Lincoln stood frozen to the spot "um...Luce are you okay?" he asked the confused look on his face not fading.
Lucy gave a sigh and spoke "no Lincoln,I'm afraid I'm not" she answered.
A slither of worry made its way into Lincoln's features "is there something wrong?" he asked carefully.
Lucy nodded "yes and you're the only one left that I haven't brought up my concerns to"
Lincoln tilted his head "concerns?"
"It's about Lynn" she revealed.
Lincoln sighed at this "listen sis I know you're confused,believe me I was confused as well but I'm pretty sure everyone except you has accepted her change"
"Oh I've accepted it all right but I'm just..sceptical is all" Lucy said.
"About what exactly?" Lincoln asked with arms crossed and ears open ready to hear what else she has to say.
"Just...everything" she said.
Lincoln sighed again,he walked over and took his younger sisters hand and before she could question why next thing she knows she is sat down on Lincoln's bed and the owner himself sat next to her.
"Okay then,tell me what's wrong" he spoke softly to the younger girl,he's starting to worry for her,getting herself worked up for what was thought to be nothing to worry about.
Giving yet another sigh Lucy answered "ever since Lynn came home after her small disappearance I've...felt something...something bad"
"Can you be more descriptive please?" Lincoln asked.
"Well...every time I'm around her I feel..." she trailed off.
"Feel what?"
"...I feel scared Lincoln" Lucy shamefully admitted,usually she is the one making people scared,and Lincoln gave her a worried look.
"And for some reason I don't know why but I also sense...madness" Lucy finished off.
Had Lucy been any other little girl he would of brushed her off as crazy but Lucy most definitely wasn't any other girl,and Lucy could hang off the ceiling just like her bat friends up in the attic so Lincoln was willing to take her word for it for now.
"Okay then,anything else I should know about?" Lincoln asked.
"Actually yes" she confirmed to him.
Lincoln gestured for her to go on and then Lucy took a breath before answering.
"All these activities that she does in her spare time,she keeps them under wraps all the time" she said slowly.
"Well everyone needs a bit of privacy now and then" Lincoln said back.
"True but the way she hides what she is doing so well...I just get an odd feeling" Lucy said whilst she played with her bangs.
Lincoln placed an arm around his sister bringing her in for a sideways hug.
"I just think you're worrying too much" he commented.
Lucy huffed "that's what the others said"
"Okay listen,I'm going to go on a walk with Lynn later for some 'sibling bonding' as she put it,how about I try and get her to spill the beans on what she's doing whilst I'm out?and I'll report back to you" he suggested,Lucy looked at him.
"That sounds like a plan"
"Well I am the man with the plan" Lincoln replied smugly,to which Lucy just rolled her eyes.
"Just...please be cautious" if you listened closely you could catch a slight break in her monotone voice.
Lincoln smiled "of course,Luce" and patted her on the head.
"Okay,you run along now,I've got a comic book to finish" he said grabbing said comic and getting comfortable again.
"Very well" Lucy sighed,she stood and walked over to the door,taking one more look back at Lincoln who was already so engrossed in his comic that he didn't notice her stop,she looked away,opened the door and disappeared into the hallway closing the door behind her.
Not even bothering to strip down this time he began to once again indulge himself in this fictional world,but he kept thinking back on what Lucy said,she did sound worried even through her monotone voice,what was there to worry about?...everything was just fine...
Yeah...just fine.
After lunch...
Everyone finished up their second meal of the day and prepared for the afternoon,Lynn had gone straight upstairs after lunch to get her backpack,this made Lincoln wonder just how long they'll be out for if she requires such a thing,he'll just bring his phone and a comic book or two with them,it was also a little bit on the chilly side today so they're mother insisted on them both bringing jackets,Lincoln rushed up after his sister and they both headed to their respective rooms to grab their things.
Lynn raced down the stairs jumping the last step and landed with a small thud which drew the attention of a passing Rita who looked on amused "well someone's eager"
As Rita said that Lincoln came down the stairs much calmer than Lynn comic rolled up in his hand and the shape of his phone pushed through the fabric of his pant pocket "a little too eager" he commented as he descended the last step.
"Oh don't be such a spoilsport" Lynn told with a dismissive wave.
"Are you sure you want to go now?it hasn't been that long since you had lunch" Rita asked.
"Well the path we're going to be taking is pretty far" Lynn explained.
Rita took on an unsure look "how 'pretty far' are we talking?" Rita questioned.
"Just as far as the hill in that lovely little forest of ours"
"The forest?" Lincoln ran the idea through his head.
"That is far" Rita agreed,she started thumbing her chin in thought.
"Unless you'd prefer it if we cut it a little bit shorter?" Lynn suggested.
"You know what maybe that would be nice if you did that" she agreed to the idea,a tiny bit of concern in her voice.
"Okay we'll do that ,we could stop halfway?" behind Lynn's eyes Glitchtrap had another idea running through his and Lynn's shared brain,he had stolen a car last night and stashed it in that forest,but he could improvise a little.
More nervousness slowly built up in Rita's features though she was doing her best to hide it.
"Mom,are you okay?" Lincoln asked her.
"I-I'm fine..I honestly don't know why I'm so worried" Rita said mainly to herself.
"I'm sure it's stress stemming from somewhere else" Lynn brushed off.
Lincoln decided to step in with his opinion "I'm sure we'll be fine mom,we've got each other's backs" he said placing an arm around his sister with a smile,which felt a little awkward since neither of them showed any kind of affection like that in the past,but there was no objection from the possessed brunette.
"Of course" agreed Lynn before checking her imaginary watch "oh would you look at the time,come now that walk isn't going walk itself..hm,try saying that five times fast" and with that Lincoln was dragged to the door and both of their coats was snatched from coat stand whilst the loud mother looked on in surprise.
"Okay then just be safe" she waved to her son and what she thought was her daughter.
"We will" called back the feminine voice of the pair,and then the door was opened and shut leaving Rita standing alone in the doorway between the living room and the dining room.
Inside one of the vents,Lucy loud looked on as the whole conversation sounded through the house up until the moment the teen and pre teen walked out the door,her suspicions still fresh on her mind,she swore on her life that she would get to the bottom of her worries,but at least she now she knows she isn't the only one that felt sceptical around here.
The streets of royal woods was mostly quiet now with only a few dog walkers passing by as Lincoln and the killer bunny he knows as his sister walked on,it had only been half an hour since they departed from the house of loud and Lynn talked a lot with Lincoln only nodding in agreement or answering with a 'sure' or a 'yeah'.
The two turned a corner to be greeted by the sight of a police car parked outside the house of one of the royal woods residents,two police men were standing at the open front door and were locked in conversation with a man and a woman,husband and wife by the looks of them,the cops spoke in a calm manner whilst the couple were talking less then calm.It looked like they had a garage and the door was wide open and just three metres away was a broken mail box,it was snapped in two and the bottom still stuck almost perfectly upright whilst the top part lay next to it on the road the actual box part of the contraption had been completely flattened,it almost looked like it had been fused with the road itself.
Lincoln quickly put the prices together and gave a silent "oh no"
"Oh what a tragedy" came the voice of the one accompanying him,Lincoln was to engrossed in the scene before him to notice her mocking tone and gestures which were complete with a knowing smirk.
When he finally snapped out of the small trance "We better tell mom and dad about this,y'know just in case" Lincoln suggested turning to Lynn.
"Oh yes definitely,we wouldn't want dear old vanzilla stolen know would we?" Before Lincoln could respond he ushered along.
"Come on now,it's rude to stare" Lynn pushed the boy further down the path,looking back one last time to admire the small amount of chaos caused by one car theft with another smile.Another thirty minutes passed since they saw the crime scene,Lincoln quickly forgot about it and decided to focus on walking,looking down at his feet as he did so trying to think of something else.
He was snapped back to reality when he heard a surprise cry sound out from behind him,he looked back to find himself looking down at his fallen sister who was in the middle propping herself up.
"You okay?" He asked not thinking much of the fall.
"Yep I'm fine-probably should've worn some different shoes today" she assured him,now fully stood up.
Before Lincoln could ask any further he was once again pushed along.
"Cmon let's not waste any more time" she hurriedly said.
With Lincoln in front and Lynn in the back she had slightly annoyed but mostly confused look on her face now,that fall was no ordinary fall.Glitchtrap felt his puppets left leg go completely numb which caused said fall,like he had completely lost control over it,either he hasn't mastered complete control over the body..ormaybe..just maybe..someone was fighting him,trying to break his bond on the body..he had a feeling it was most likely the latter,she can sure as hell try and fight him..but she'll have another thing coming.
The rest of the walk was all silent as neither of them had anything to say,Lincoln noticed for a walk that was supposed to be 'sibling bonding' he wasn't seeing much of it,he examined the streets as they strode pass to see if anything interesting was going on,at least he'd have something to actually distract himself from this ever so familiar silence,but was disappointed to find absolutely nothing that could entertain him,sure he had his comics but he couldn't walk and read at the same time,they were only for breaks which so far they've only had one small break.
Eventually they came upon a very small and mostly quiet part of the neighbourhood,in fact it looked almost abandoned in a way.The first few houses looked okay condition wise,but then they slowly lowered in that regard as they continued on,from overgrown walls to broken roofs,from smashed windows to rotting wood,the list goes on,Lincoln didn't even know this part even existed up until now,how did Lynn come to know about this?
But those thoughts were pushed aside as a bad feeling in Lincoln's gut decided to make itself known.
"O-kay,why do I get the feeling we've gone way too far?" he anxiously muttered to himself,this didn't go unheard by his walking buddy.
"Well,I believe that's because we have gone far" Lynn answered,turning back with sly smirk,to which the younger boys face then paled,he had been to absorbed in his own bubble to realise the distance that they may be putting between them and their house.
With anxiety gripping at his heart he quickly pulled out his phone,repeating a hushed and distressed 'No' over and over right until he found what he was looking for.
"Oh...great" he said with a slump of his shoulders.
An amused chuckle flowed between Lynn's teeth at the display.
"Do you see me laughing Lynn?" Lincoln said,his voice now suddenly dripping with more tiredness than annoyance.
"Oh come now,we're having fun aren't we?" Lynn answered with her own question.
"I-I guess...but that two week,month or possibly years worth of grounding that most likely awaits us ain't gonna be much fun" Lincoln retorted.
"And since when were you such a goody two shoes anyway?"
"Hey I don't claim that title it's just I prefer not to have certain luxuries temporarily taken away because of bad behaviour"
"Whoa...who are you and what have you done with Lincoln?"
He just rolled his eyes deciding not to take it any further,they continued walking passing more broken down houses.This part of the neighbourhood definitely needed a big make over.
His anxiousness got the better of him and he spoke up once again.
"Lynn I think we should-" he started but turned to Lynn only to find her not present,he hadn't even felt her change course,he looked back and forth until his eyes finally landed on Lynn leaning against a rotten wooden fence of one of the houses.Lincoln let out an exasperated sigh.
"I swear you're gonna become dangerous with Lucy's trait"
Another chuckle "perhaps I will" she agreed.
"What are you doing over there anyway?I was just about to say we should start heading home while we still can" he babbled on.
"Okay first of all chill out we got plenty of time and secondly I thought why not make ourselves at home in one of these astonishing houses" she she said putting emphasis on 'astonishing'.
Lincoln hesitated "I don't think we should waste-" he was once again cut off.
"I told you we got plenty of time,cmon let's go exploring" she beamed turning and climbing over the small fence.
"Y'know I'm actually not to fond of abandoned places" said Lincoln with a sheepish smile.
Lynn turned back with a sceptical look "why do I not believe that?"
"I-I" he stammered.
"Cmon you know you want to" Lynn said with a teasing voice and a smile to go along with it.
With a sigh of defeat he relented "okay fine if we still have time" he begrudgingly climbed over the fence to join Lynn earning a large smile from the girl in question.
"There's the little adventurer,I knew he was in there somewhere" she etched closer giving him a one armed hug and she got a grunt in response.
"Alright then let's go" she said enthusiastically casually offering Lincoln a bottle of water that seemingly came out of nowhere "it's been a bit too long since we had a drink" Lincoln took it,puzzled as to where she pulled it from,then Lynn walked towards the entrance of the house whilst opening her own bottle,Lincoln could've sworn he didn't see her reach into her backpack to get them.
...
The inside of the house was as obviously empty,all the walls were either completely or partially stripped of wallpaper and Lincoln also had the unfortunate experience of walking into numerous cobwebs and bugs nests.
The two kids separated each exploring different areas of the house,abandoned places are cool in a way,just to think about how many people actually walked where he was walking right now.
He checked out the houses bathroom,bedrooms,living room,dining area,kitchen until there was nothing left..or so he thought.
Lincoln was halfway through his bottle of water as he came down the stairs looking for Lynn "okay I think that's all the house done,we should get on our way now" he was still a little anxious about how much time they were eating up,he heard no response from Lynn as he pulled out his phone to check the time.
3:56
Lincoln,decided he'd had enough of this place decided maybe it was time to go,there's nothing much here anyway.
Lincoln stuffed his phone back in his pocket and went in search for his sister,calling out her name for good measure as he searched around the entire house not seeing any sign that the brunette was there and she wasn't responding to his calls,he let out an annoyed groan as he just finished searching with no result whatsoever.
"Lynn,please stop fooling around,you're not Luan " he begged out loud...still no response...what is she playing at.
He waited there for a moment,hoping she would come out of hiding...nope.
He sighed "alright then be that way,I'm gonna walk out that door,go back to our house and you can have fun in your new home" he said as he did just that,but then he stopped at the door way and looked back "final warning" he called out.
When he once again got nothing in response he sighed and did the old fashioned trick of stomping on the spot to make the other think they are actually walking away.
As soon as he died down the level of stomping to just tapping his heels against the rotten floor,he heard something.
Creaking...
Coming from what he remembered was the dining room,that better be Lynn,he started to stalk over to the dining room doorway and looked inside to find nothing,it was the same as when he first saw it,empty and decaying.
No...wait a minute...was that door there before?
He must of completely missed it because now he realised the colour blended in with the wall when it was closed,but now it was wide open,Lynn has got to be there now.
With annoyance once again accompanying him he sped walked his way towards the door and stepped out,an overgrown hedge greeted him as he drew to a stop he looked to his left and stared down the path ahead,there was a two metre gap between the house and the hedge,at the end was another metal gate that presumably led into this houses back yard.
He started toward it "Lynn,is that you there?" he called out as he approached.
As he reached the gate he looked out in front of him,nothing but a whole forest of weeds and long grass and...some mass that was hidden underneath a large dirty cover which most likely used to be white,but has been browned overtime.
Lincoln could definitely tell what it was though,and it was a car,he could clearly see the outlines of the frame and even the wheels,probably old and rusty and most definitely beyond repair.
Lincoln placed his hand on the gate and opened,the rusted metal screeched with the movement,he entered the back yard and examined more of his surroundings,no sign of his sister anywhere and he sighed at the result.
He finally had enough of the games and turned around to march back through that house and leave for real this time,Lynn was on her own.
With a hand on the back door handle he was ready to go through until he heard yet another sound that came from behind him,his face fell flat as he contemplated weather he should even bother turning around and his mind was made up when he heard a shuffle of fabric,that was the cover on the car.
He turned around and immediately noticed that the cover has been moved around,he could tell by the creases,and lying beside it was an empty plastic water bottle,he glanced at his own water bottle and confirmed it to be the same shape,now that had to be Lynn,so then he set off towards it.
"Y'know Lynn I think we were wrong.." he began "..you haven't completely changed,that gamer side of you is still alive and kicking and I thought we had rid of it" he finished.
Upon reaching the cover,he bent down to grip the bottom "it's been fun but now.." he yanked the cover up "it's time to..." he trailed off.
He thought the car underneath would basically be a shell when he uncovered that part of the car,but no,underneath he found his eyes gazing upon a shiny,red coat,and the wheel he uncovered with the coat was intact.He grabbed at the top of the cover,collecting handfuls of the fabric in his fists before yanking hard and pulling it completely off with a whoosh sound.The sight before him was of a red 2015 Chevrolet Impala,he had his mechanic sister to thank for that knowledge,but he wasn't so concerned about that right now.
Lincoln took a step back,levels of confusion reaching an all time high "okay that looks very out of place" which it did considering the environment he was in.
"Indeed"
he jumped at the sound of Lynn's voice turning around to be greeted by her smiling form.
"I swear you are dangerous with that trait" he scowled at her as he calmed down.
"Thank you"
"don't ever mess me around like that again"
"No promises"
As Lincoln collected his thoughts and steadied himself his attention turned back to the car.Wondering what such a nice car was doing out here beyond these broken houses.
"Pretty car,huh?" Lynn said.
Lincoln didn't respond as immediately a thought came to him,the crime scene of the stolen car.
"Lynn,I think we found that couples' missing car" he expressed just that thought.
"Possible" Lynn agreed.
"I don't get it,the thief took the car from those people and drove to this part of the town and just park it here hidden under that cover" he contemplated to himself "why would that be"
"You got quite the case,detective" Lynn teased Lincoln as he continued to wonder.
That comment was once again ignored as another more shocking thought came to mind.
"Oh my god...oh god..." he kept repeating and repeating as he looked around nervously as if he was expecting someone to jump them.
"What's wrong" Lyn asked,still watching with on.
His gazed landed on his sister "what if the thief's here?"
Both of Lynn's eyebrows shot up in great amusement...oh the thief was here alright.
"What if he was in that house just now,what if he was sleeping as we were wondering around the place-oh they must have been a heavy sleeper if they haven't come out here yet,because I was yelling your name trying to know where you were..." Lincoln continued to nervously babble on whilst Lynn looked on,until it was decided to put an end to his rambling.
"Lincoln" the boy stopped talking and looked at Lynn "the thief Isn't in the house"
"How can you be so sure?"
"Trust me I have a strong feeling they ain't there"
Lincoln's breath slowly started to steady as he was talking a bit to fast,he looked at the car then back to his sister.
"Well,I think we need to report this" he said,his hand reaching for his phone,his hand slid into the pocket and it felt...empty,he checked the other pocket getting the same result.
"That's strange" he began as he searched around in his coat pockets now "I could've sworn I brought it"
"You mean this old thing?" Lynn asked causing Lincoln to look up at her and low and behold there was Lincoln's phone nestled in the brunettes hand.
Lincoln frowned "why do you have my phone?"
"I took the liberty of looking after it" she responded without pause.
Lincoln gave an eye roll and held out his hand "can I have it back please?"
Lynn thought for a moment and then said "no" with a smile.
Lincoln groaned "Cmon this isn't the time" he said sternly.Lynn only responded by letting the phone go and quickly catching it in the other hand,pretending to accidentally drop it.
"Whoopsie"
"That is not funny" Lincoln grew more and more irritated.
Lynn laughed "okay,okay I've had my fun,here" she held out the phone to him.
Finally relieved that she stopped he reached out for the device,as his fingers edged nearer Lynn drew back her arm and threw it with all her strength over Lincoln and it disappeared far behind the car and a small soft thud sounded out.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS LYNN" Lincoln yelled at her,turning to run after the phone.
Whist Lincoln searched for his phone in the damn near knee high grass Lynn took this opportunity to take her bag off her shoulders and knelt down unzipping the bag,she dug through the items looking back at the boy with an evil smirk etched on her face.
Lincoln grabbed handfuls of of grass and pulled the opposing sides apart trying to look for his phone,and kept repeating that process until he finally spotted the rectangular device,he wasted no time in picking it up and examining it for any damage,once he was satisfied it was fine he turned back.
"You better have damn good reason-oh for gods sake,where did you go now" Lynn had disappeared again,how the hell does she get away so fast?she was completely out of sight with not even the slightest bit of evidence she was standing there once.
"Ugh..fine be that way" he grumbled as he dialled 911,he would report the car and go home,and if Lynn didn't show up then,she was on her own,the ringtone sounded out and he waited...
But then...the sound of movement came from behind the boy,and Lincoln started to notice more clearly as the sounds got near,he frowned in annoyance as he had a theory as to who that would be,he turned around to the direction of the sound expecting to see Lynn but found no one there,this time he frowned in confusion,the ringtone was still ringing and he brushed off the sound,that could've been anything,but little did he know,this was it...this was the beginning of the end of his life.
Before he could turn back around he was grabbed from behind and a damp cloth was pressed against his face,covering his nose and mouth,forcing him to breath in the strong aroma that attached itself to the rag.Lincoln tensed up in shock but that shock didn't last for long as he started to struggle against the attacker,a hand grabbed his wrist with the phone in just as a receiver answered the call.
"911,please state your emergency?" a female voice sounded from the phone.
Lincoln started to feel weak and the grip on his phone started to loosen,he tried to scream out to let the woman on the other end know something was wrong but nothing came out,the hand of the attacker moved to wrestle the phone out of Lincoln's grip.
"Hello?" the woman asked upon not receiving an answer.
With the phone in the hand of the other,they hung up the phone,cutting off the line,they manoeuvred the phone so it was facing down flat in their palm and closed their fingers around it and started applying pressure.Cracks splintered out across the screen as more and more pressure was applied eventually looking somewhat close to a spiderweb,and with one last squeeze the phone gave way and shattered,small pieces of the screen shot up at Lincoln and the unknown person behind him.
His eyes started to droop and his world started to darken,in one last attempt to break away he reached up both of his hands and tried to claw away the hand holding the rag but that proved to be fruitless as Lincoln's weakening form combined with his attackers strength prevented that from happening.
As the world got darker and darker Lincoln felt like crying,shouting for someone to come and save him but it was simply not to be,he spent his last consciousness moments thinking about everyone,family...friends,none of them would know what happened to him and they would all be heartbroken at possibly never seeing him again.
He felt everything go numb and the dark kept creeping into his vision and the very last thing he heard before going into complete darkness was a small feminine giggle.
It was done...he wasn't going home anytime soon.
There were so many directions I wanted this chapter to go.
So many names I wanted for this chapter.
But I'm pleased with what I managed to cook up here.
If you enjoyed then I'm glad.
Please be sure to leave a review I would love to hear your thoughts and what you think I should improve on in future.
Love you all ;)
5k words btw,I am very pleased